Social security and welfare measures are necessary to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected and provided support to mainstream into society. Social Protection is defined by the ILO as a set of public measures that a society provides for its members to protect them against economic and social distress caused by the absence or a substantial reduction of income from work as a result of various contingencies and should be approached in its various dimensions and through various phases of the life cycle. It talks of Social Security for All, which envisages that “in a crisis-shaken world marked by a perhaps unprecedented quagmire of political, environmental, economic and fiscal uncertainties… social security is a human right and all people regardless of where they live, should be guaranteed at least a floor of basic social protection” (ILO, Social Security for All, 2012). There is a growing demand that the approach to social protection should progressively shift to a rights-based framework. In countries where a vast majority of the population live below the poverty line and are unable to access services or benefit from a market economy, such protection is essential. Social security benefits are powerful tools to combat poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. While earlier development theories considered social policy as a residual, it is now being increasingly realised that it is essential to integrate economic and social policies; the build-up of national social security systems early in the economic development process is a key investment in overall development.
Despite a strong social safety net, a considerable number of people still find it difficult to cope with the painful problems of exclusion, destitution, chronic or life threatening diseases, disabilities and sudden poverty. There are also outlier groups who are outside the social safety net. It is the responsibility of a civilized society to ensure that all marginalized groups have equal access to opportunities and capabilities and live a life of dignity. There is a need to strengthen the available services, improve their quality, and ensure a coordinated monitoring. Several of the projects on social security are related to this dimension. It is important to ensure comprehensive coverage, identify the need for new interventions if there are critical gaps in coverage, avoiding duplications and overlaps.
Kerala has several achievements in introducing social security measures to the vulnerable groups like persons with disabilities, aged people, women and children in difficult circumstances. In Kerala, the Department of Social Justice and its allied agencies are involved in addressing the problems of social security and welfare. The departments and agencies stand for a caring and equitable society and their major activities are given in Appendix 4.3.53.
Thirteenth Five-Year Plan
Categorisation of Social Security Programmes in Kerala
The social security programmes in Kerala can be categorised into two: A. Institutional Care and B. Social Assistance Programmes.
A. Institutional Care
In the State, Government as well as NGOs and Voluntary Organizations provide institutional care to the disadvantaged sections of the population. There are 75 welfare institutions under the aegis of Social Justice Department (SJD) for the care, protection and rehabilitation of children, disabled, women and aged. Out of this, 27 institutions are for children, 16 for women, 16 for senior citizens and 16 for disabled. Through institutional care and support, SJD provided rehabilitation services to more than 2,800 persons in different categories and more than 80,000 persons are benefitted every year through the institutional support of NGOs registered under Orphanage Control Board. In 2016-17, 2,142 persons and 1,308 persons up to August 30, 2017 were benefited through the network of these institutions under SJD. Apart from this, 2,068 persons were benefitted through different registered welfare institutions as on August 30, 2017. In this period, the number of occupants is less compared to the sanctioned strength of inmates for certain categories of institutions run by SJD. It could be that the sanctioned strength no longer exists in practice due to financial difficulties in maintaining large numbers. As against the total sanctioned strength of 148,227 inmates in the registered welfare institutions under SJD, the occupants were 85,178 in 2016. This is about 57 per cent of the total sanctioned strength of inmates. In the welfare institutions registered under SJD, the number of inmates is higher than sanctioned strength in Nirbhaya shelter homes and Beggar homes but much less in homes for Psycho Social Rehabilitation and foundling homes.
The number of welfare institutions currently in government sector is 75. However, it is a major concern that the State does not have any care institutions/assisted living homes for children with intellectual disabilities (Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Disabilities and Mentally Retardation). All these necessitate an integrated policy framework and careful planning for establishing new institutions different from those in the past. The District-wise coverage of beneficiaries in major welfare institutions run by SJD is given in Appendix 4.3.54 and that of registered welfare institutions in Appendix 4.3.55.
B. Social Assistance Programmes
Social assistance programmes aims to reduce poverty and vulnerability among the people having little or no regular means of subsistence. Various social assistance programmes are listed below.
Social Security Pension Schemes through LSGIs
Old age pension, disability pension, widow pension, pension for unmarried women above 50 years and agriculture labour pension are the major pension schemes. Of these, the first three are part of the National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP) for which central assistance is received. From April 2015, the disbursement of pensions is being done at the State level through the newly introduced Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system. As on March 31, 2017, there were 42.45 lakh pensioners in the State. The highest category of pensioners is of old age pensioners (49.02 per cent) followed by widow pensioners (29.15 per cent) (Figure 4.3.11).
Source: Directorate of Panchayats
Among the districts, Thiruvananthapuram is on top with highest number of beneficiaries and Wayanad the least. If the entire social security pension scheme system in the State is operated from one head, a comprehensive list of pensioners would be available which would help us to ascertain the actual beneficiaries and extend its coverage to the needy people who may have been left out. The district wise coverage is given in Appendix 4.3.56.
Social Security and Welfare to Unorganised Sector workers
Social security coverage to workers in the unorganized sectors is given through the Welfare Fund Boards. There are 32 Welfare Fund Boards in the State, of which 16 are under the direct control of the Labour Department. To bring all these boards under one umbrella is very helpful for monitoring and bringing uniformity.
Details on Welfare of Senior Citizens are given in the ‘Ageing' section of this Chapter.
Welfare of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs)
Services to persons with disability also form a focus area. As being discussed globally, disability should no more be viewed merely from the welfare prism but recognized as a human rights and development issue. From being passive beneficiaries of doles, disabled have to be considered as citizens who can be equal partners and contributors to development. The State accepts a rights based comprehensive life cycle approach to the services for Persons with disabilities which has been given due importance in the 13th Five-Year Plan. This includes prevention initiatives, early screening, early intervention through DEICs and other health and social sector institutions, education support through special anganawadis, Buds Schools, Model Child Rehabilitation Centres, special schools, inclusive education, vocational training, Sheltered Workshops, Community Based Rehabilitation and assisted living projects among others. While schools are admitting students with disabilities, appropriate mechanisms have to be put in place to make them inclusive. Teachers, in general need to be sensitized to the need of such students. Special education training needs to be more practice based like nursing training attached to hospitals. Current theory oriented system must change. Special attention should be given to cognitive disability. Diversity in cognitive disability should be emphasised. Individual Care Plan formulation and follow up shall be another major initiative. This requires convergence of services, resources and institutions.
In Kerala, a State wide Census of PwDs was undertaken by the Kerala Social Security Mission in 2015, the first of its kind in India, covering 22 types of disabilities. As per the survey, 7.94 lakh people equivalent to 2.32 per cent of the total population of the State are disabled, of whom, females constitute 44.57 per cent, SC 10.93 per cent and ST 2.15 per cent. The highest number of disabled persons is in Malappuram District (12.5 per cent) followed by Thiruvananthapuram (9.72 per cent) and the lowest in Wayanad District (2.91 per cent). Regarding type of disabilities, locomotor disability stands top with 32.89 per cent and multiple disabilities stand second 17.31 per cent.
State Policy for Persons with Disabilities
Government of Kerala enacted a policy for PwDs in the year 2015 recognising the necessity and inevitability of including disability dimensions in the development agenda, programmes and action plans of the State. Participation of PwDs in the developmental process, viewing disability as a human rights issue, protection from abuse and creating a positive environment and attitude for inclusive development and empowerment of PwDs are the key strategic focal dimensions of the policy. From being passive beneficiaries, the disabled have to be considered as equal partners and contributors to development.
National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH)
NISH is a premier institute in the area of disability and has been declared as a National University for Disability Studies and Rehabilitation Sciences to provide an excellent environment for pursuit of higher studies for people with disabilities. The facilities of the NISH include audiological evaluation, speech languages rehabilitation, pre-school and parent guidance programme, ENT services, psychological services, speech therapy, degree courses for persons with hearing impairment, graduate and post graduate programmes in human resource development and research activities etc. From April 2016 to March 2017, NISH has attended 226 cases (no. of students) under early intervention programmes, 4,553 cases seen/sessions given under hearing and speech language disorders programme and 2,165 cases under medical, psychology and allied services. The academic programmes conducted by NISH benefited 188 students. The training and industry placement benefited 24 persons and the volunteering and internship opportunity benefitted 43 persons.
Kerala State Handicapped Persons Welfare Corporation
The Corporation provides economic empowerment and rehabilitation to persons with disabilities. In 2016-17, the Corporation supplied equipment like tricycle, wheel chair, hearing aid,etc. to 1,455 differently abled persons and issued motorized tricycle subsidy at 10,000 to 23 such persons, of whom the women beneficiaries were 2. Also, the Corporation distributed loans to 92 disabled persons (63 were male and 29 were female) for self-employment from the funding provided by National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation. In addition, the Corporation itself distributed bank loan subsidy to 214 differently abled persons across the State for self-employment (150 were male and 64 were female) and provided rehabilitation to 18 male and 6 female disabled persons in old age home at Parassala. The Corporation also assisted 235 children through the fixed deposit scheme at the rate of 20,000 to each child (of whom 111 beneficiaries were girls and 124 boys) for severely disabled children. In 2017-18, corporation supplied equipment like tricycle, wheel chair, hearing aid etc. to 648 differently abled persons, assisted 35 children through the fixed deposit scheme at the rate of 20,000 to each child, distributed self-employment loans to 58 disabled persons from the funding provided by National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation.
State Commissionerate for Persons with Disabilities
The State Commissionerate was set up as per the Persons with Disabilities Act (PwD Act) enacted by the Government of India in 1995. Co-ordinating the programmes implemented by different departments and monitoring the utilization of funds for the benefit of the disabled in the State are the functions of the Commissionerate. The other functions of the Commissionerate are conducting awareness camps, redressal of the complaints of disabled persons, inspection of institutions for disabled, etc.
National Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
NIPMR is an institute under Department of Social Justice dedicated to the assessment and therapy of children and adults with multiple disabilities especially Cerebral Palsy and other associated disorders. An average of 20 clients mostly children are attending the speech therapy sessions under the Audiology and Speech Language Pathology department. The persons affected with stroke, accidents etc. are also to be treated with available facilities in NIPMR. Modernisation of prosthetic and orthopaedic department is being done and mobile intervention unit has started functioning.
Institute for Cognitive and Communicative Disorders and Neuro Sciences (ICCONS) and Child Development Centre are the other major institutions working in this area. The particulars of these institutions are given in the chapter on Medical and Public Health.
Programmes for Persons with Disabilities
The schemes for the welfare of persons with disabilities are being implemented through Social Justice, Health and Education Departments. The schemes implemented through SJD and KSSM are listed below.
Issuing Disability Certificate to Differently Abled
As per 2015 Disability Survey, total number of disabled in Kerala is 7.9 lakh. According to the Persons with Disability Act, 1995 it is mandatory to provide disability certificate to all the disabled. From 2009 to March 2015, Kerala Social Security Mission distributed 283,277 identity cards through 1495 disability certification camps across the State. In 2017-18, Mission distributed 7,750 identity cards through 31 disability certification camps. The impact of such camps is that it reduces the difficulties faced by PwDs to travel to distant places for getting medical certificates.
Aswasakiranam Scheme
The scheme is implemented to provide monthly assistance to care givers of the following categories of patients like 100 per cent blind, bedridden patients suffering from cancer, cerebral palsy, autism, mental illness, mental retardation and bedridden due to old age, who need a full-time caregiver. The number of beneficiaries during the financial year 2016-17 was 90,251.
Hunger Free City Scheme
The scheme is to provide free food at least once in a day to those who reach cities and are in need of food. Kozhikode is the first city to introduce this scheme. The number of beneficiaries under this scheme during the financial year 2016-17, was 9,70,157.
State Initiatives on Disabilities (SID)
This is a special initiative of the Government for prevention, detection, early intervention, education, employment and rehabilitation of the persons with disabilities through Social Justice Department with the joint support of Education and Health Departments. The major achievements are:
MMR Vaccination: MMR vaccination was started and given free of cost to new-borns from January 2014 onwards in Govt. Maternity Hospitals and about 4 lakh doses of vaccines were supplied as against the target of 6 lakh.
District Early Intervention Centres: Land for DEICs has been identified in all the 14 Districts. The expected outcome of DEIC is an “Accessible Service Hub” for PwDs and a Centre for education and training for their parents and other stakeholders. Mobile intervention units have been launched at 25 blocks along with NHM and work has been initiated for establishing Model Child Rehabilitation Centre at Mattannur and Madai.
Establishing of Special Anganawadies for Pre-school Children with Disabilities: The project initiated by Department of Social Justice for children with disabilities is being piloted in Kozhikode district. This programme has a great impact on the children in performing their Activities of Daily Living (ADL) by enabling them own their own to become more accommodative in their further schooling and reducing the constraints in mainstreaming.
State Initiative on Dementia
The Department of Social Justice has started a Day Care Centre at Thrissur Municipality and a full time centre at Edavanakkad Old age home for the rehabilitation of dementia patients in the State.
Insight Project
The Insight programme was started in 2007 to explore ways in which information and communication technology (ICT) can be leveraged to address challenges faced by people with disabilities. The initial phase of the programme focused on visual impairment. In 2009, it was extended to include an experimental programme for children with cognitive challenges. The programme was funded by Kerala State IT Mission and conceived and executed by SPACE, a non-profit organization. In 2013, the programme was handed over to Department of Social Welfare with the objective of scaling it up. The execution of Insight programme for the visually challenged was transferred to Kerala Federation of the Blind and SPACE continued the execution of Insight programme for cognitively challenged children.
Insight for Children with Cognitive Challenges provides support (including basic skill and academics-related training) for more than 60 children. It harnesses a blend of new technologies and traditional systems to train the children. New technological tools and practices are being developed and experimented at SPACE. The training centre makes use of software tools to implement Individualized Education Plans to systematically monitor progress in each child. Innovative educational content and tools to build content are being developed. Training programmes on ICT for special education, content development and parent training are also undertaken. The knowledge flow from the programme benefits many other organizations indirectly. By supporting and strengthening the activities for the knowledge transfer, the benefits of the programme can reach more people.
Welfare of Women
Women constitute 52 per cent of State Population and the overall sex ratio of Kerala is 1,084 females per 1,000 males. Female literacy rate is 92 per cent which is highest in India. Maternal mortality rate was much lower in Kerala when compared to the situation in India. The present status of women in Kerala is given in the chapter on gender development. However, the activities of the institutions for women empowerment and major schemes promoting social and economic rehabilitation of women are as follows.
Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana
This centrally sponsored scheme provides financial assistance to pregnant women of 19 years and above for the first two live births. This scheme is implemented in Palakkad district.
Snehasparsham
This scheme implemented by KSSM aims to address the problem of unwed mothers. A monthly assistance of 1,000 is given to all unwed mothers and this scheme has benefitted 2044 women during the financial year 2017-18.
Women Development Programmes
This is a major programme of Social Justice Department focusing on implementation of dowry prohibition, protection of women from domestic violence and sexual abuse, rehabilitation of victims including health care and compensation, economic support to women headed families and women belonging to BPL families and assistance to low salaried women for self-improvement through capacity building.
Nirbhaya Programme
Nirbhaya programme of Social Justice Department envisages setting up of “Nirbhaya Homes” for sexually abused women. There are 12 shelter homes (three in Thiruvananthapuram, one each in Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrisur, Idukki, Wayanad, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kasargod) for protection of victims of sexual abuse. 21 One Stop Crisis Cells are functional in Government Hospitals of all 14 districts of the State providing all required services to women victims of sexual violence, emergency health care, psychological counselling, police assistance, legal aid and safe shelter service. In 2016-17 up to August 30, 2017, the number of women benefited under the scheme were 331. Three Fast-Track Courts exclusively for women and children have been established in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts.
One Stop Centre
One Stop Centre will provide support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces. The centre at Thiruvananthapuram is operational. In 2016-17, Government of India has sanctioned four new One Stop Centres in the State in Thrissur, Malappuram, Kannur and Wayanad districts.
Transgenders
Kerala is the first State to establish a Policy for transgenders in India. Many of them are reluctant to reveal their identity. Transgenders are very much struggling for their day-to-day life activities. This group needs more attention for mainstreaming into the society. As per the disability census conducted in Kerala in 2015-16 there are 1,187 transgenders in Kerala with disability. Thus various schemes are proposed to be implemented in 2016-17 for the welfare of transgenders. Department was able to provide scholarship assistance to three students and also conducted district level workshops for assessing the livelihood training required and other matters relating to mainstreaming of transgenders. In 2017-18 a scheme for transgender has been introduced. The major components are given in Box 4.3.11.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
This centrally sponsored scheme implemented by the Department of Social Justice was launched in Thrissur district on a pilot basis addressing the issues of women in the longer term and to reverse the trend of declining child sex ratio. As per the scheme, the State receives financial assistance from GOI to empower the girl child and enabling her education.
Kerala Women's Commission
The Commission was established in 1996 to improve the status of women in Kerala and enquire into unfair practices against women and recommend remedial measures. The Commission implements gender awareness programmes and undertakes legal workshops/seminars, adalaths, DNA test, etc. In 2016-17, the Commission had conducted 262 legal workshops/seminars on various problems faced by women; conducted 46 counselling/skill training programmes for Panchayat Jagrathasamathis on various laws related to women and other legal procedures and disposed off 3350 petitions through 120 Adalaths. Under gender awareness programme, the Commission undertook 27 pre-marital counselling sessions across the State with the participation of women NGOs and conducted gender sensitisation programmes in 309 educational institutions. In 2016 to 2017, the Commission received 6,402 complaints; the nature of complaints shows that harassment of women, domestic violence and family problems dominate and are on the increase. The category wise and district wise details of complaints received as on March, 2017 are given in Appendix 4.3.57.
Kerala State Women's Development Corporation
Self-employment schemes for women, flagship programme on gender awareness and Finishing Schools are the major programmes of the Corporation. The Corporation distributed over 35.74 crore from National Corporations to 1772 women under self-employment loan scheme and 3crore to 173 women in general category through Plan fund. The Corporation has so far installed 49 She-toilet units across the State and 8 in major railway stations. As part of ensuring menstrual health and hygiene for adolescent girls and women, the Corporation launched the supply of high quality sanitary pads at affordable cost and installed vending machines and incinerators in 623 schools across the State. Under the flagship programme on finishing schools, the Resource Enhancement Academy for Career Heights (REACH) at Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur imparted skill training to 712 students and the EDP/Vocational training programme benefited 800 women across 7 districts. As part of gender awareness programme, KSWDC has started women cells in 40 women colleges. The main objective of the women cell is to make the youth aware of the issues involved in their society and to equip them with adequate management skills to handle day to day affairs. The corporation has proposed to start women cells in mixed colleges too, to promote the idea of gender equality and create gender friendly campuses in the State. The help line service as envisaged by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, GOI is an emergency response system for women in distress. Mithra Helpline (181) was launched in Kerala on 27th March 2017 and is presently functioning successfully as a 24/7 accessible and emergency response service for women in need. Help line has provided effective intervention in over 6,300 cases so far.
Gender Park
Gender Park at Kozhikode was conceptualised by the Department of Social Justice in 2013 (though its genesis goes back to 2011) as a platform for learning and research on gender equality and empowerment of women. It provides a space for all gender identities to overcome the socio-economic and political boundaries imposed on them by society and contributes to the economic, cultural, and social aspects of the State and the country. Among its main activities envisaged are: research - action research for policy making;. skill development centre - where any hard skills, on any heavy machinery will be taught; production Centre which can be an outlet of the SDC or can be independent in nature; Library and documentation centre; Heritage Museum which needs lot of research and a historical legacy of women should be maintained there; a cultural space for women to express their creativity in drawing, painting, dance and music and other areas of culture, including martial art. It already has an amphitheater and a legal centre.
An activity of Gender Park was the She Taxi flagship project, India's first 24x7 women-specific taxi network managed and run by women to promote entrepreneurship, self-employment and security of women.
Welfare of Ex-Servicemen and War Widows
The Department of Sainik Welfare is looking after the welfare and rehabilitation of ex-servicemen and their dependents. The department intends to train the ex-servicemen and widows for competitive examinations for re-employment and self-employment. Rehabilitation training on vocational/professional/technical courses for equipping the ex-service men/war widows and their dependents is a major programme. In 2017-18, up to September, the computer training centres at Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Thrissur provided rehabilitation training to 184 beneficiaries, of whom, 57 were women. Fashion designing training was provided to 9 dependent females.
Welfare of Prisoners
In Kerala, the jail infrastructure consists of 44 jails (designed to hold inmates awaiting trial or serving a short sentence) and 11 prisons (designed to hold inmates for a longer term convicted of more serious crimes). As on March 2017, there were 7,542 prisoners, of whom 190 are women. The women prisoners in Kerala are marginal (2.5 per cent) compared to other southern States where this proportion ranged from 4 to 6 per cent. Modernisation of Prison and Welfare of Prisoners are the two major schemes implemented by the Prison department. Installation of CCTV in jails, construction of modern interview hall and public address system in central prisons, State level seminar on correctional administration etc. are the major programmes undertaken. During 2016-17, department established various farms in open prison Cheemeni, established computer lab in central prison, Kannur and expanded Free Fashionist a unit in central prison, Thiruvananthapuram. A prayer hall was also constructed in central prison Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. Details of prisoners in jails are given in Appendix 4.3.58.
Welfare of Children
As per 2011 census, the children in the age group 0-18 constitute less than 30 per cent of the State's total population and girl children in the age group 0-6 to State's population is 9.36 per cent. The under-five mortality in the State is 12 deaths per 1,000 live births. Kerala has achieved marked improvement in promoting survival, protection, development and participation rights of children in a holistic manner.
Children's Right to Protection
Child protection means to create a safe and caring environment for all children, free from neglect, violence, abuse and exploitation. Kerala performs much better in protecting children from all kinds of ill-treatment and violence. However, following constraints remain which prevent the State from providing social safety net for children, in particular those specifically vulnerable.
Crimes Against Children
Crimes against children continue to show an upward trend, with rising figures for kidnapping and rape. As per the report published by the State Crime Records Bureau, the crimes against children in the State are recorded as 2,881 cases in 2016 and 2037 cases up to July 2017.
Girl Child
The sudden decline in the Child Sex Ratio (0-6 years) at the all India level from 927 females per 1,000 males in 2001 to 919 in 2011 is a major indicator of women disempowerment. As per 2011 Census, the child sex ratio for the State is 964 which is only four points higher than in 2001 Census (960). While the child sex ratio in all the districts of Kerala is less than 1,000, the districts of Alappuzha (951), Ernakulam (961), Kasaragod (961) and Thrissur (950) show ratios below the State average which is quite alarming. Discouraging the use of sex selection techniques, rewarding the girl child and awareness creation are the interventions needed to promote the girl child.
Child Marriage
Child marriage is a violation of child rights. According to UNICEF, child marriage has been found to be on the rise in Kerala in recent years due to “migration from the northern part of the country”. The UNICEF report observes that in recent years Kerala has been a favoured destination for young men from Haryana, who are looking for brides (given the skewed gender ratio in northern States). This is an issue that needs to be investigated further.
Child Abuse
Child abuse cases especially sexual abuse incidence of girl children are on the increase. As per State Crime Record Bureau, 754 sexual abuse cases were reported in Kerala up to July, 2017. The growing tendency, especially in adolescent years, towards substance abuse, use of alcohol and cyber abuse is another key area of concern.
Children's Right to Development
Early childhood is the most significant developmental period of life. Holistic development of children up to 18 years includes all areas of growth-physical, mental, emotional and social development. Kerala has always been in the forefront for promoting the above four domains of child development. However, some lacunae in early childhood care remain. Even though the State shows a high level of immunization coverage (DLHS-4 report-full immunization coverage for 12-23 months is 82.5 per cent), anti-vaccine campaigns are noted in some of the northern districts of Kerala. Exclusive breast-feeding (first six months of infancy) rates in Kerala shows slow progress (prevalence of exclusive breast-feeding among 0-5 months is 69.1 per cent and 69.8 per cent in DLHS-3 and DLHS-4 respectively). Unhealthy feeding practices such as pre lacteal feeding practice, late initiation of breast milk and bottle feeding practices are noted in several research studies in Kerala.
Absence of universal pre-school education in the State is another major issue which requires much attention. As per RSOC-14, 26.2 per cent of children in the age group 3-6 years are not attending pre-schools. Also, absence of scientifically prepared uniform curriculum is another area of concern needing redressal.
Children's Right to Survival
Infant mortality and prevalence of low birth weight babies are the two major determinants of child survival. The State's Sustainable Development Goals target for IMR is to reduce it from 12 per 1,000 live births to 8 per 1,000 live births, MMR from 66 to 30 per 1 lakh live births and U5MR from 14 to 9 per 1,000 live births by 2020. Although the State has done well in above parameters, the prevalence of malnutrition (DLHS-4, around 21 per cent children below 5 years are underweight and 19.4 per cent are stunted), anaemia(DLHS-4, 34.6 per cent have anaemia and 2.4 per cent have severe anaemia), shortfall in full immunization (around 17 per cent of children in the State do not get all 5 vaccines before their first birthday) are high in certain districts of the State, particularly in the tribal population. All of these present a huge challenge for the Government to achieve the target of SDG.
Children's Right to Participation
Right to participation provides children with an environment to participate in decision making processes and gives them an opportunity to express their views freely. Kerala's model of Bala Sabha and Bala Panchayath as neighborhood network of children in LSGs for holistic development of child health has been widely acknowledged.
Major Programmes on Child Protection, Care and Development
The programmes and schemes related to protection, care and development of children are being implemented by the Department of Social Justice and KSSM. The major Acts, policies and programmes in addressing the rights of children are detailed below.
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012
The Act deals with child abuse and provides protection to children from the offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography. Steps have been taken in the State for the effective implementation of the Act. Eleven Special Care Homes have been set up to provide care and protection to children covered by this Act in 9 districts. Special Juvenile Police Units are being set up in all districts. To expedite the trial of cases registered under the Act, Special Courts have already been notified in the State.
Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights
The Commission functioning as a statutory body has the mandate to examine and review the existing laws for the protection of child rights, enquire into cases of violation of child rights, look into factors inhibiting the enjoyment of those rights and suggest remedial measures etc. In 2016-17, the Commission received 2,512 complaints and 1,138 cases were disposed. Of these, 118 cases are related to POCSO, 128 cases are related to RTE and the remaining to child rights violation.
Adoption Services
There are 18 specialized adoption agencies, 5 recognized adoption placement agencies for inter-country adoption and 20 licensed adoption placement agencies functioning in Kerala. During 2013-14 to 2016-17, 613 in-country and 53 inter-country adoptions took place. In 2016-17, 136 children were adopted in Kerala, out of which 67 were females (55 in-country adoptions and 12 inter-country adoptions). Details of adopted children are given in Appendix 4.3.59.
Child line Services
Child line system is a 24-hour toll free telephone service (1098) for children in distress. The service is now available in 278 cities in India and 15 in Kerala (3 in Rural and 12 in Urban). Child line service would be strengthened further in consultation with NGOs and other voluntary organizations.
Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
ICDS, one of the flagship programmes of GOI, aims at early childhood development by providing an integrated package of services such as supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-up, referral service, health and nutrition education and pre-school education to children less than 6 years along with pregnant and lactating mothers. In 2016-17, the number of Anganwadi Centers (AWCs) operational across the State were 3,3114, covering 11.16 lakh beneficiaries under supplementary nutrition programme and 4.32 lakh children in the age group 3-6 years under pre-school education. Of the beneficiaries of supplementary nutrition programme, 2.57 lakh were pregnant and lactating women. Under pre-school education, 2.15 lakh were girls in the age group 3 to 6 years. District wise coverage is given in Appendix 4.3.60.
With State Government support, the LSGIs have initiated various innovative practices under ICDS. To improve nutritional status of children in the tribal areas, Kudumbashree has established production units in Wayanad for micronutrient fortification of Amrutham Nutrimix. To combat severe malnourishment, a community based nutrition rehabilitation programme has been introduced in the Attappady tribal project area with UNICEF support. GIS-based Jatak and Janani for real-time monitoring of nutritional status has been introduced in Attapadi. Jatak is a system for growth monitoring of under 5 year children on real-time basis, through mobile telephony comprising voice file, picture and location. This is functioning in Attappady and Manathavady. Social Audit of ICDS was conducted in Thirunelli Grama Panchayat in Wayanad district and Nemom project in Thiruvananthapuram district with the technical support of TISS, Mumbai. A Social Audit Manual and Tool Kit have been developed in Malayalam. Government will take steps to conduct Social Audit in all 33,115 AWCs in the State. Anganwadi Welfare Fund Board is constituted in Kerala for the welfare of Anganwadi workers and Helpers. The Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme provides early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age through Anganwadis.
Integrated Child Protection Scheme
This centrally sponsored scheme provides preventive, statutory care and rehabilitation services to children who are in need of care and protection and children in conflict with law. Child Protection Units, Child Welfare Committees, Special Juvenile Police Units, State Child Protection Society and District Child Protection Units and JJ Boards have already been established in the State to speed up implementation of the provisions contained in the JJ Act. The programmes related to various social legislations like Child Marriage Restraint Act, Kerala Beggary Prevention Act, programmes on Child Rights Convention, and adoption related laws are also being implemented under the scheme. Special courts have started in the State to expedite the trial cases registered under POCSO Act. In implementation of the Shafeeq Committee report, the Government of Kerala has issued a ‘model' protocol on Balasuraksha detailing (1) implementing measures to prevent violence against children (2) identifying cases and intervening early (3) providing care and protection to the victim and (4) preventing reoccurrence of abuse. In the 12th Five-Year Plan, Social Justice Department has taken several steps to prevent child abuse under ICPS. Measures have been taken for identification of vulnerable families, capacity development of front line agents, prevention of child sexual abuse,programmes like capacity development of teachers, training programmes for teachers in prevention and reporting of child sexual abuse.
Scheme for Adolescent Girls (Erstwhile Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Adolescent Girls)
A centrally sponsored scheme, launched in Kollam, Idukki, Malappuram and Palakkad Districts, it aims at empowering the nutritional and health status of the adolescent girls in the age group of 11-18 years through 84 ICDS projects in the districts. In the 12th Five-Year Plan, the scheme assisted 46.95 lakh beneficiaries.
Kisori Sakthi Yojana
This is a centrally sponsored scheme with the objective to improve the nutritional status of adolescent girls in the age group of 11 to 18 years by using the platform of ICDS. The activities proposed are vocational training to adolescent girls, health and nutrition day celebration including health clinic activities, monitoring and evaluation at different levels, orientation, etc.
Cancer Suraksha and Thalolam Schemes for Child Patients
These schemes of KSSM give free treatment through government approved hospitals to children below 18 years who are suffering from cancer and life threatening diseases. The Cancer Suraksha Scheme is being implemented through 12 Government hospitals and Thalolam Scheme is being implemented through 18 Government hospitals in the State. In 2017-18, the Cancer Suraksha scheme benefited 5,791 children and the Thalolam scheme benefited 13,801 children.
Snehapoorvam
Kerala Social Security Mission provides financial support to children who lost both parents or either of them and the other parent is not in a position to look after the child due to financial constraints. The scheme aims to give educational assistance to children up to degree level. HIV/AIDS affected students are also included under this scheme. This programme benefited 58,106 children till March, 2017.
Snehasanthwanam
The scheme, acts as a relief measure to endosulfan victims in the State. The financial assistance under this scheme is being provided from December 2010 onwards. It also provides educational assistance to children studying in class I to VII, and children who are studying in Buds school. The number of beneficiaries under the scheme in 2016-17 is 10,320.
Our Responsibility to Children Kerala (ORC)
The scheme offers psycho-social and emotional support to children with the support of other stakeholders like Police, Education/Health departments, LSGD, etc to prevent inculcation of harmful habits like substance abuse etc. During 12th Plan period,the project was implemented in 93 selected schools in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.
Psycho Social Services for Adolescent Girls
This scheme of Social Justice Department provides counselling and guidance support to adolescent girls. The Psycho Social Counselling Centres were started in 807 selected schools with the support of concerned LSGIs and Education Department. Full time school counselors were posted in each school for giving counselling and guidance support to children.
Cochlear Implantation in Children
The project of KSSM provides cochlear implant to children in the age group of 0-5 years selected by regional and State level technical committees and provides financial support for Auditory Verbal Habilitation (AVH) to operated children through empaneled hospitals. The project assisted 109 children till March, 2017.
First 1,000 Days Programme for Infants in Attappadi
This is a special programme by Social Justice Department for infants in Attappadi focusing on early initiation of breast-feeding, timely introduction of complementary foods at six months, hygienic complementary feeding practices and full immunization and Vitamin A supplementation with de-worming, etc.
GIS Based Mother and Child Health Tracking System in Mananthawadi Block
This is a pilot programme run by Social Justice Department for tracking the health status of pregnant women and children in Mananthawadi block of Wayanad district with the support of the JATAK and JANANI software applications.
Generation Anganwadies/Model AWC's
This is a concept of bringing 3 generations under one umbrella; Aged persons for sharing their experience with the children below six years, adolescent girls and mothers into a common centre. The centre shall have facilities for all the functions of the regular Anganwadi along with a separate reading room for the elderly. 119 model Anganwadis were sanctioned and more than 506 regular Anganwadies were also sanctioned under NABARD, RIDF scheme for construction of the building.
Outlook
Vulnerability arises from risks and insecurity caused by various factors. Social protection system helps to absorb the shocks and minimise adverse impacts. It covers both deprivation and contingencies and prevents, reduces or eliminates economic and social vulnerabilities to deprivation. The framework of a Rights Based Social Protection Floor for the State will consist of the following key elements, namely, (i) protective measures for the formal sector(ii) promote measures like (a) improved earnings in the informal sector, (b) social assistance pensions, (c) public employment like MGNREGS, (d) food security: PDS, ICDS and Mid-Day Meal Programme and (iii) protection of the excluded social groups like people with disabilities, older people, victims of abuse, transgender, migrant labourers etc. The Social Protection Floor should lay down clear-cut entitlements backed by legislation. In Kerala, the local governments can formulate their own social protection floor consisting of the following six dimensions of social protection (a) primary education, nutritional status and health of children (b) employment and livelihood security with the MGNREGS in the central place (c) social pensions for the elderly, widows, persons with disabilities and agricultural labourers (d) health protection (e) food security and (f) housing, water and sanitation.